There are lots of tide gages on the Gulf Coast and around Florida keeping track of the rising sea level and the sinking land. The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool, UK hosts the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level. Its records for some stations are fairly current, but in the upper end of the Caribbean Sea, where I need to examine the relation between the length of the Loop Current and the hydraulic head driving it, we have a problem. The most recent data is from 1996, supplied by the Mosquito Research and Control Unit on Grand Cayman Island. Data is even more ancient for possible alternative locations on Cuba and Belize.
I was lucky to find some overlap between the beginning of the Gulf of Mexico radar altimetry data starting in 1993 and the Grand Cayman sea level data ending in 1996. Actually, 1994 Grand Cayman sea level data is missing, so there are only three years to compare. It bothers me to think that I came that close to not having this opportunity to test my hypothesis. But who would have thought there was a relationship between the wind-driven pile-up of water at the entrance to the Gulf and the length of the Loop Current?
Now I have to convince others of the need for Grand Cayman sea level data and find some agency that can make it happen. Might need some help with this. Heard Bill Gates was interested in fighting hurricanes. I wonder.........